South Asia News

Italian prime minister makes unannounced visit to Afghanistan

Dec 23, 2007, 7:09 GMT

Kabul - Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi arrived Sunday in Afghan capital on an unannounced visit to meet with his Afghan counterpart and Italian troops in the war-torn country, officials said. An official from the Italian embassy confirmed Prodi's arrival and said that he was scheduled to meet with Italian troops serving under NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. He is also expected to meet with top commander in Afghanistan to be briefed on the security situation in the country, the official said. Italy has deployed around 2,000 soldiers to Afghanistan, with bulk of them stationed in peaceful western province of Herat and some around Kabul. Prodi's visit came a day after the leaders of France and Australia, who both visited Afghanistan on Sunday and reassured their 'long-haul' commitments to Afghan government. The visits by Western leaders come at the end of the bloodiest year since the ouster of the Taliban regime in late 2001. More than 6,200 people have been killed in Afghanistan this year. © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

South Asia News

Italian prime minister makes unannounced visit to Afghanistan

On the Web

Your Talkback on this Story

Similar articles

Latest Headlines in South Asia

Older Talkback

Like M&C on Facebook

Viral Web

In Monsters and Critics

Corporate

The Fine Print